Broken (Disappeared #2)

Chapter Twenty-One

Once they had finished eating, Sarah brought out the chemise, corset, petticoats, and a host of other things necessary to transform the three of them. Yoltzin couldn't stop touching the little blue dress she was to wear. Theodosia's heart clenched when she realized it was a castoff of Louisa's. She was so eager to see her again that she almost wanted to fly out and run all the way back to the mansion that very moment.

And yet she needed to complete her transformation from filthy escapee of a fallen world to a proper English lady. Sarah lit a fire, drew water from the well and boiled it for the bath. She filled a huge tub and ordered everyone to undress.

Xochitl and Yoltzin couldn't stop giggling that a stranger was to wash them. Still, Sarah performed her job with her usual stoic patience, scrubbing with the help of a brush and a cake of soap. The two Nextics had never been in a bath before — the river was par for the course. They came out pink and glowing, smiling from ear to ear. Sarah toweled them off and set to refilling the bath for Theodosia.

There was some confusion here, as customarily ladies didn't take baths in the public eye. "You said there was a gentleman, my lady," Sarah said in an urgent undertone. "Is he here?"

Theodosia stifled a laugh. It was odd to be back in prudish England where bodies were obsessively hidden away.

"He is out for a walk. We'll lock the door just in case. Now why don't you help the others and let me soak? They're accustomed to a completely different style of dress and I fear they'll need all the help they can get."

And so Theodosia soaked in the deliciously hot water while watching the spectacle that was dressing two Nextic accustomed to wearing little more than a bit of linen. The first issue was getting them into their undergarments.

"Why do you wear all this cloth?" Xochitl asked, fidgeting with her petticoat. "I can't move like this. How do you run?"

"We don't run," Theodosia said with a hint of a smile. "We walk quickly." Xochitl gave her a look to say she must be mad.

"It's itchy," whined Yoltzin.

"Just wait and see what I have to wear. It's much worse, believe me."

After the bloomers and petticoats came the dresses. Xochitl was put into light green muslin. Her broad frame looked massive in all the layers.

"I feel ridiculous," she said flatly as Sarah did up her buttons. The maid looked away but Theodosia could almost read her thoughts: Where in heaven's name had these two come from?

Theodosia dressed herself as her maid brushed out and styled the hair of the others. Sarah had picked out a salmon pink muslin dress she commonly wore when traveling. Once it was on, her maid brushed out her hair and did it up in an intricate style. Xochitl and Yoltzin watched Sarah's handiwork with fascination.

"You do this every day? Or just to go out?" Xochitl asked.

"To go out. Sarah would do something a bit simpler if I was just at home." She looked up at her maid. "I assume you have a plan?"

The petite blonde nodded. "My cousin was by this morning with bread and I asked him to rent and drive a coach down the lane. He'll pick you up at that blind turn just inside the gates. We'll have to pretend he picked you up at the station, I suppose, and hope no one can prove our story otherwise."

Theodosia reached up and squeezed her hand. "That's perfect, Sarah. I suppose I'll try to arrive for dinner, then?"

"Yes, miss. We should be in time."

She finished pinning up a last plait. Theodosia stood up, her transformation complete. Xochitl and Yoltzin's eyes widened.

"You look like some kind of flower!" the little girl said.